This really pulls back the curtain on cobalt

... and makes carbon look beautiful by comparison.

https://rumble.com/v21xovy-the-disturbing-reality-of-cobalt-mining-for-rechargeable-batteries.html

Oliver's Christmas commentary nicely conveys the sense of the Magnificat

 

499 years old, now going on 500

This historical and pivotal sermon series began on December 1, 1523. It evidently ran right up through Christmas Eve.

2023 would be a great time to have a Bible study on 1John, with Oecolampadius' sermon series to guide you. 

Here is a playlist of 17 videos consisting of a 30-min Introduction and sixteen short summaries by Oecolampadius' leading biographer, Ernst Staehelin (a contemporary colleague of Karl Barth); the summaries are newly translated and read as introductions to Bible Study sessions.

Meanwhile, as further evidence of just how groundbreaking this series was, check out this link; notice whose name appears first and notice the categories:

Tradition = Reformed and Genre = Sermon / Sort = Date (Oldest)

The title in question is the third on the list. The first is Oecolampadius' translation of a patristic sermon, the second is a collection of three sermons from 1521, which merit translation, but do not quite represent the full breakthrough to the Reformation, as they were produced while he was still in the monastery.

For the hardcover version of the Sermons on the First Epistle of John, and also for additional translations of related material, ... these Works of Oecolampadius are appearing at Barnes & Noble.

First Year in Basel

This latest volume in the series, The First Year in Basel, fills the gap between Sown on Rock: The Sermon on the Vernacular and the Correspondence with Hedio, and the Sermons on the First Epistle of John (A Handbook for the Christian Life).

[Links to images lead to paperbacks. Links in the paragraph above lead to hardcover options.]

What is a Christian to do in a time of runaway inflation?

Lower prices on Christian resources, of course!

No time to list them all. But check out my Amazon author page and you will see. 

Note the several Advent and Christmas selections, from the sublime ...

• Johannes Oecolampadius, Sermons on the First Epistle of John (A Handbook for the Christian Life), a groundbreaking Advent sermon series that turns 500 years old next year.
• Waste Not the Fragments: A Commentary for Year D (Advent)
• Waste Not the Fragments: A Commentary for Year D (Christmas) — BRAND NEW
• Greater Attention: Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship (Year D)
• Lightning from the East: Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship (Year A)

... to the childlike:

• A Phenomenal Llama: A Tall Christmas Tale for Children of All Ages
• A Coal Train Bound for Christmas — BRAND NEW

Lots more to explore and enrich your faith in the coming year. 

The "Mere Christianity" of its day

 

  

Cloth w/ DJ                                      Kindle                                      Paperback

Next year (2023) is the 500th anniversary of this popular and pivotal sermon series, first preached in Advent in 1523. 

Looking at the history of preaching, especially through the work of the late Hughes Oliphant Old, it is hard to overstate the importance of series of 21 sermons on the First Epistle of John. Casting about for a literary comparisons, allowing for differences in genre, technology, and context, and measured in terms of influence, the best comparison that springs to mind is C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. Both are challenging, but still accessible to the persevering lay reader. In hindsight, it really was momentous, a major milestone in the Swiss Reformation.

"What does the fire chief say?"

 

  

Cloth w/ DJ                                      Kindle                                      Paperback

Next year (2023) is the 500th anniversary of this immensely popular and important sermon series, first preached in Advent in 1523. 

Reading the opening of Sermon Ten, it is hard not to think of Kierkegaard's short piece from the Attack on Christendom, entitled, "What does the fire chief say?" 

There are times when one needs to preach like the fire chief at the scene of a conflagration, and even times when the beloved apostle had to write in this urgent tone. Half a millennium since this sermon was preached, but it could have been, and perhaps it was, written for just such a time as this.

The "purest Gospel"

 

  

Cloth w/ DJ                                      Kindle                                      Paperback

Next year (2023) is the 500th anniversary of this immensely popular and important sermon series, first preached in Advent in 1523. 

Once the Reformation in Germany had taken hold under Luther, based in particular on his re-discovery of the theology of Paul (Romans and Galatians), further south in Basel, Switzerland, Oecolampadius' serial exposition of 1John likewise tackled, among other things, the doctrine of justification by faith, and strongly confirmed it, while at the same time affirming the fact that good works testify to the genuineness of a living faith and offer us reassurance that we truly have the Word of God abiding in us.

In Sermon One of this series, which was enthusiastically received by the Wittenberg theologians, when Oecolampadius introduces the human author John as the author of the Gospel and the Epistle, he refers to the latter, this epistle as, "itself the purest gospel." This is super-essential material, the stuff of confirmation, a short course in Christian basics, and here it is, finally translated into English for the first time as of 2017, for just such a time as this. 

Why not soak in this sermon series with your congregation in its 500th year, the series that reconnected preaching to the patristic tradition of lectio continua expository preaching, after 1000 years of drift? [Let me know if you want to buy in bulk for your Sunday school, adult Bible study, pastor's reading group, confirmation, or new member's classes, and we can work something out.]

Jesus trusted his mom to this guy

 

  

Cloth w/ DJ                                      Kindle                                      Paperback

Next year (2023) is the 500th anniversary of this popular sermon series, first preached in Advent in 1523. 

Throughout the series, and indeed throughout his correspondence, Oecolampadius continually refers to the Holy Spirit as "the anointing" (1John 2:27) to invoke the divine authority that lies behind the inspiration of Scripture. But here, in Sermon One, as he introduces the human author of 1John, he takes the traditional line that the author of the Gospel and the Epistle(s) are one and the same: John son of Zebedee and brother of James. And though he banks far more on divine inspiration, he says of the human author, in essence, "Look, if Jesus trusted this guy with his mom, you can trust him, too!" (my paraphrase). Who can argue with that?

Is it budget season? Is it time to develop your 2023 preaching plan? Why not read this sermon series in its 500th year, the series that virtually re-calibrated preaching after 1000 years of drift? [Let me know if you want to buy in bulk for your Sunday school, adult Bible study, pastor's reading group, confirmation, or new member's classes, and we can work out a discount window.]

Plan now for your all-congregation Bible study of 1John guided by the sermons of Oecolampadius

  

Cloth w/ DJ                                      Kindle                                      Paperback

Next year is the 500th anniversary of this important and popular sermon series on 1John. These twenty-one sermons by Oecolampadius were preached every evening during Advent in December 1523 (leaving out Sundays). Though it was a weekday (evening) series, the lectio continua style of straightforward, comprehensive Bible teaching (1) represented an historic reclamation of patristic expository preaching, and (2) set the standard that would be implemented by ordinance in all the pulpits of Basel some five years after these sermons were published. Though Oecolampadius was gone by the time Calvin arrived in Basel, every church in town was ringing with the form of preaching offered here. There can be no doubt that Calvin will have had a copy of the series, which sold through several editions in multiple languages very quickly. Surely for this reason, among others, Oecolampadius can be called, and indeed he has been called, Calvin's "spiritual father." 

Not only are the sermons lively, accessible, and illuminating, Oecolampadius' selected book of the Bible, The First Epistle of John, proves a perfect focal point for this Advent series, for a fresh approach to the then-current debates over the doctrine of justification, and as he himself says, the book is a veritable "Handbook for the Christian Life." 

Whether as an adult Bible study, or a resource for new members or even confirmation, a Bible study guided by this sermon series would, with little effort on the part of any facilitator, feed and edify a congregation for half a year. So why not read these Sermons on the First Epistle of John in its 500th anniversary year (1523/2023)? Why not challenge your whole congregation, any neighboring congregations, and churches in your presbytery, synod, classis, or annual conference, to read and discuss this rich, foundational text with you?

Kindle available at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Sermons-First-Epistle-John-Christian-ebook/dp/B075WRG9CV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1664564991&sr=1-1

Paperback available at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Sermons-First-Epistle-John-Christian/dp/197589202X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1664564991&sr=1-1

Hardcover available at Barnes & Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sermons-on-the-first-epistle-of-john-johannes-oecolampadius/1128121419?ean=9781668519998

A Coal Train Bound for Christmas

This short story came to mind the other day, on Labor Day, when I found myself stopped at a crossing with a coal train passing by. It was inspired by a similar moment 24 years ago, which gave rise to what would become my Christmas Eve message in 1998. So, after cobbling a few images together, here it is after all these years: a reverie masquerading as a narrative sermon, inspired by a coal train. 

(Available in paperback and Kindle, both priced as low as possible, in light of the times.)

Read Deuteronomy 27-30

No link. Better to find a Bible, crack it open, read it slowly, prayerfully, humbly, earnestly. 

It explains everything. 

The Secret of Salix Babylonicus ...

proves itself more and more prescient with each and every day that goes by. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11027847/Depression-NOT-caused-low-serotonin-levels-study.html

And I had little inkling that it would do so when I wrote it 26 years ago. 

Happer is to physics what Sowell is to economics

 Both voices of brilliant common sense crying in the wilderness.

The massive guide to homeschool reading lists

 https://ihomeschoolnetwork.com/homeschool-reading-lists/

Another book on Oecolampadius to announce

Ernst Staehelin, Breakthrough to the Reformation: Oecolampadius' Journey in Stages from Augsburg to Basel (1518—1522). 

This is Part II of Staehelin's definitive biography; the shortest of the five parts, but arguably the most pivotal and decisive phase in the theological formation of this first generation Reformer. This very reasonably priced hardcover makes a good companion piece to my translation of Oecolampadius, Sown on Rock: The Sermon on the Vernacular and the Correspondence with Hedio (B&N Press).

The 500th Anniversary of this pivotal sermon is next week, May 25.

Johannes Oecolampadius, Sown on Rock: The Sermon on the Vernacular and the Correspondence with Hedio, is available in .ppb and hardcover with dj at Barnes & Noble.

Who preaches like this?

 Never the preacher alone. No one preaching in his or her own strength or wit or intellect or pride.

Recommended listening

A long while back I put up a long series of posts called "Music for the Pastor's Study." Rather than try and excavate it and attach this to it, I'll just let this stand as a free ad for Fred Baker. For many years Fred collaborated with the late, great Phil Miller, and now offers master class videos and labors to promote Miller's legacy project. But here is Fred on his own, demonstrating not only his performance chops, but his brilliant compositions, which are quite accessible. Fred deserves a much bigger audience in his own right.  

Free ad for 

Fred Thelonious Baker

"Hymn of Hope"

 

"Prelude to Life"

"Elliot's Joy"

Here is Fred's lovely composition that he contributed to his duet album with Phil, called "Double Up."

The tune is ...

"For Christine"

Why pastors should monitor so-called “conspiracy theories”

I have been thinking for a long time about this topic and it deserves a much more thorough treatment, but until then, this “brief” will have to do. 

That pastors, in general, do not openly and overtly monitor (or admit they monitor) so-called conspiracy theories is, quite frankly, a failure of theological education, which today (1) assumes the best of humanity (quite contrary to human experience and equally at odds with the Augustinian / Lutheran / Reformed suspicion of human nature under the burden of original sin, total depravity, and the bondage of the will); (2) gives too little thought to theodicy and eschatology; (3) too often results in a low-grade arrogance that attempts to shun any appearance of gullibility or credulity (and in the process actually acquires the very things it tries to avoid; i.e., by shutting down analytical and critical faculties); (4) treats non-lectionary texts—such as, “Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing, and “Enter through the narrow gate”, and, “Test the spirits to see whether they are of God”—as second-class revelation; (5) misunderstands humility in such a way as to always be lectured to, never reconciled, on matters of social justice, and to ever be fruitlessly bolstering one’s social credit score, proving one’s magnanimity, and conforming to worldly expectations, all of this, in the lower (sub-Christian or pre-Christian) sphere of humanitarian ethics, gussied up as “neighbor love.” This is not a cynical diagnosis. The situation is one of misplaced confidence, misplaced competence, misplaced fear. 

But with faith toward and trust in Christ alone, with fear of God alone, we are to be wary of all threats to Christ’s flock, not concerning ourselves with what other people make of us, not concerning ourselves with the appearance of gullibility. I do not say we should “subscribe to” or “espouse” all conspiracy theories, but we should monitor them until they prove either credible or not credible. Why? Because we know, though not every threat or conspiracy theory is real, there are nevertheless a great many threats, many “antichrists” that have already gone out into the world. So that we do not become the proverbial boy who cried, “Wolf!,” we need the spiritual gift of discernment to sort out truth from falsehood, but that is a gift of the Spirit that we should exercise, not something we should subcontract to so-called fact-checkers, who often prove to be fallible, biased, and even overtly false, and transparently duplicitous. No, we should be quite sure of the threat before raising the alarm, but when we have done so, having not squandered trustworthiness by issuing a series of false alarms, the alarm itself simply signals the threat is real and the potential loss very great; it does not mean that we necessarily understand the threat in every detail, only that it is a threat and that people—without fear—should shift into a state of heightened vigilance. 

But here is where the social pressure to conform must be resisted and overthrown; here is where one must abandon all concern for public perception, i.e., that one will be taken for a fool or deemed crazy or come off as rude, frightening, offputting, a “conspiracy theorist,” a “domestic terrorist,” etc. This “fear of man” is, please note, part of the “broad way that leads to destruction,” and it is paved with thoughts like:

“I am too well educated and enlighted and sophisticated to believe in such theories.”

“I am too magnanimous, charitable, non-judgmental, to think that any person could get up to the evil things these conspiracy theorists are suggesting.”

“The devil is just a premodern myth used to explain inexplicable suffering and evil things that happen in the world, but we have no need of texts that truck in such language and imagery.”

“The Bible’s apocalyptic texts are quaint, but too mysterious to understand, and they certainly do not shed any light on these conpiracy theories, neither should we ever expect that they might reveal actual events that signal the return of Jesus Christ at the end of history.”

 

Ah, but the faithful and wise (Matt 24:45) pastor will take all Christian scripture seriously and therefore have the complete foundation and reference for wise and discerning parabolic comparisons between the written revelation and worldly events; will “test everything” (1Thess 5:21) and be able to discern when the label “conspiracy theory/theorist” is simply being used—as is most often the case—to lull the drowsy back to sleep, to discredit those who are truly vigilant, and to cover up wickedness and let it resume its destructive and corrupting work. And, in fact, as one who, without embarrassment but eagerness, watches for the Lord, he rests—with vigilance, mind you—rests in the knowledge that he is no mere theorist, but a thyrorist, a doorkeeper (θυρωρὸς) in the house of the Lord (Psa 84:10), who is simply following orders (Mark 13:34) by watching for the return of his Master. 

This sister also brings the fire ...

 but this one is a steady blue flame. 

This sister brings the fire

Theologically educated and articulate, both. God bless Kristina Karamo.

Again with the Ninth Commandment

It has been a while since I posted something about the need for preachers to preach on the Ninth Commandment, and for that matter, on the lex talonis ("an eye for an eye"), a Year D text. 

The point is not to reinforce or revert to "an eye for an eye," but to show the rationale for it, namely, that it serves as a warning—ideally, one time only—against "false accusation" or "bearing false witness," or for that matter, psychologically projecting your own prejudices onto people you falsely cast as bigoted.

Here is one whopping illustration. 

 

"Blessed are the peacemakers."

 Remember that one? Time for Christians to get their peacemakers on. 

Choose your 13

"Forgiveness of sin is something different from justice. And eternal life is not the same as peace and freedom. The church requires scope to deliver her own message about forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the name of her Lord. The significance of the political order as the service of God is obscured where the State refuses the church this scope or sets limits to it. It is obscured where the State demands of the church that she subject and adapt herself to the aims of the State. It is obscured when the State furthers the false church in opposition to the true. It is obscured where the State, perhaps by making its own aims absolute, as in Germany to-day, becomes itself a church, a church which will without doubt be a false one and the most intolerant of all churches. The question then which the State cannot evade it: does it make clear or obscure the significance of the political order as service of God? Is it on the way to becoming in its sphere what Romans 13 calls God's representative and priest or is it on the way to becoming the beast rising up out of the sea of Revelation 13? It is either one or the other." 

— Karl Barth, The Knowledge of God and the Service of God According to the Teaching of the Reformation: Recalling the Scottish Confession of 1560 (The Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University of Aberdeen in 1937 and 1938) (UK: Scribners, 1939) tr. Haire and Henderson, p. 226.

"Sown on Rock": Paperback edition is live

Meanwhile, since this is the Year D Project after all, I should note that this sermon which is so important for understanding the specifically homiletical turning point of the Reformation ...

(1) starts with John 16:25 — which is not in RCL, but it occurs in Year D, 3rd Sunday of Easter; and 

(2) proceeds to deal extensively with 1Corinthians 14 — also entirely untouched by the RCL, but it occurs Year D, in 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year D. 

Evidently John 16:25 was in fact the lectionary text for what was called Rogation Sunday (6th Sunday of Easter) in 1522, so it has certainly been a well-used preaching text in the past.

"Sown on Rock": Oecolampadius' Sermon on the Vernacular (1522) is finally — after 500 years — in English translation

The late Phyllis Tickle famously observed that, every 500 years, the Church cleans out its attic. Well, here you go, Church: a 500-year old classic, now translated into English for the first time. 

If any one sermon is emblematic of the Reformation of preaching itself, this is it. Preached and promptly published in the spring of 1522, it made the biblical and practical case for reading and preaching in the local language. Oecolampadius, serving as chaplain for the household of Franz von Sickingen, noted how time was wasted in worship with the Latin readings, since no one understood them, and in fact they were read so poorly that those in attendance ridiculed the whole thing. But the Word of God himself wants to speak plainly his promises of eternal life and salvation to his people and, of course, to be understood, so the love of God for his people motivated Oecolampadius to read and preach in German. 

Rarely has a single sermon ever caused such a stir. To this sermon, preached three months before the publication of Zwingli's famous "Clarity and Certainty of the Word of God" (September 1522), can be traced the most important homiletical development in Reformation, a simple pastoral decision made by a chaplain and former monk who, at the time, was also reaching back 1000 (500 x 2) years or so into the church's attic and translating the sermons of the Greek fathers, especially Chrysostom, and refreshing the preaching office with the greatest examples of public proclamation in the Christian era. Sure enough, Oecolampadius' sermon itself, and the "Beautiful Letter" in which he explained his modest, common sense liturgical changes to his friend Caspar Hedio, became one of the great sermonic moments of all time.

To Hedio, Oecolampadius wrote of his service on the Ebernburg, "here I carry on sowing on rock," a clear reference to the quintessential parable of the Word, and thus to preaching itself. The parable of the sower, of course, as Jesus told it, promised no harvest from seed that falls on the path or among stones or thorns, but — another major point of emphasis in the sermon — the miracle of preaching is at work here. Yes, by a sheer miracle of God, when Jesus himself preaches with us as we preach, even a single seed, like this sermon, can strike such a strong root as to break through rock, find water, and bear a harvest to surpass all expectations. Has the last 500 years seen or heard a more seminal sermon than The Sermon on the Vernacular? 

The whole of Oecolampadius 1522 correspondence is included here, as is the balance of his letters with Hedio through 1525. Among the latter is Hedio's (1524) Foreword to his German translation of Oecolampadius' Sermons on the First Epistle of John. In the generous Supplement to this new volume the reader also finds the first English translation of Ernst Staehelin's exhaustive and groundbreaking 1916 essay on Oecolampadius' translations of the patriarchs.

 
Dedicated with thanksgiving to the Triune God for preachers of the Word everywhere.

BTW, Amazon's hardcover platform is still in Beta, so the two JO translations linked here (in hardcover with djs), plus this hardcover reprint of Sime's short double biography of Zwingli and Oecolampadius, are all available at Barnes & Noble. Paperback will go live in a day or so. Don't expect Amazon to list BN titles, though. I'm not sure "do unto others" has quite penetrated the greatest retailer on earth. For that reason, it would be most helpful if you would spread the word, link, like, share, gift, recommend, purchase, order through your local BN, ask your library to acquire it, shout it from the rooftops, all of the above, etc. Don't let Behemoths go unchallenged. But the current paragraph constitutes the major part of my very low-tech and organic marketing plan. May the Lord give the growth. Thank you and may the Lord be with you.

Fake fact-checking.

Great interview with author of The Smear, Sharyl Attkisson. "Sometimes confusion can actually be the goal." But "the truth finds a way to be told." 

Yes, Sharyl. Yes, he does.

A conversation with Slowhand

 

It's over

 It's over when we say it's over. And it's over. I said it.

Amen!

Pretty sure he learned this from Mr. Jesus.

This lady is awesome, courageous, and whip smart

 

And not a moment too soon

 No, on the contrary, this comes many lives and many permanent injuries too late.

The Great Barrington Declaration

I signed the GBD a while back as a concerned citizen. Should have done so a year ago. But it is not too late to make your voice heard. 

Patterns of psychological projection, all on cue

 So who is the conductor?

"Trusting Jesus, That is All" (First Sunday of Christmas, 12-26-2021)

 

I've not watched the whole 3 hours

but here is Malone's Substack page with a link to the full Rogan interview on Spotify. From which I have seen enough excerpts to think it worthwhile linking here. Great meme, BTW, which should scare the daylights out of all the dog-waggers, censors, and "fact-checkers" (read: BS-enforcers), assuming there is any daylight left in their souls. But the truth will out.